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The KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour CompetitionStep up to the crease and take on your heroes with the KFC MINI-CRICKET KIDS vs PROTEAS Tour Competition
Enter your and cell phone number to stand a chance for your Mini-Cricket team to play against the Proteas

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2015/16 KFC Mini-Cricket Winners
The KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour is a national competition where kids from across South Africa can win the chance to play against their cricketing heroes, the Proteas. The inaugural tour took place in 2013 and was a resounding success. Taking place annually, the KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour has seen 14 lucky KFC Mini-Cricket teams get active and take on the Proteas. During the 2014 KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour, three South African cricketing legends – Graeme Smith, Mfuneko Ngam and Neil Mckenzie - were signed on as Assistant Coaches to the kids.

It was a hard fought series that saw the kids from Nomandi take an emphatic 1-0 lead in the first game after winning by 43 runs at the Khaya Majola Oval in Mthatha. The second game of the series, went down to the wire with both teams playing out of their skins. The kids from Mgada in Umlazi managed to win by 2 runs in the super over! The third game at Summerfields Primary School saw the Proteas play some of their best cricket and they rescued some pride with a win, through Duckworth-Lewis. The series was poised for an exciting finish when the kids from St Andrews Primary School in Saldanha Bay took on the Proteas at Newlands. In dramatic fashion, the Proteas managed to sneak a 2 run victory and square the series 2-2.

The KFC Mini-Cricket Kids vs Proteas Tour has shown the crucial role that the programme is playing in pipeline for the Proteas and has also manged to unearth some fantastic talent nationwide. KFC Mini-Cricket. Getting Kids Active.

When catching a ball close to the striker, the fingers must point downwards with hands forming a cup shape.

Always try to use both hands.

Keep eyes on the ball.

Head is kept still with eyes level.

Keep head still.

Knees slightly bent.

Elbows away from the body.

Keep looking at the ball until the ball is safely in both hands.

High Catching

Get on to the line of the ball.

Form a cup shape with fingers.

Keep eyes on the ball.

After catching the ball, cushion it against the chest.

Keep the elbows away from the body.

Retrieval
Retrieving Principal: Right hand, right foot.

Defensive Ground Fielding Along Barrier

Get in to the line of the ball.

Left knee to go down if right-handed and vice versa for the left-handers.

Keep head still and eyes over the ball.

Fingers point downwards, forming a cup shape.

Throwing Action with Follow Through

After gathering the ball safely, throw the ball in as accurately and as quickly as possible.

Keep a side on position.

Point at the target.

Follow through vigorously by transferring weight over the front foot.

Keep the head still.

Keep looking at the target.

General Fielding Tips

A fielder must expect every ball to come to him/her.

All fielders must walk in towards the batter as the bowler runs up.

When fielded, the ball should be thrown in as quickly as possible, to the wicketkeeper or bowler.

Fielders must back-up in case of their team mates missing the ball.

A golden rule for fielders is that they must keep their eyes on the ball.

Guidelines for Mini-Cricket

The guidelines listed hereunder should be followed wherever possible, especially for inter-school festivals or other official matches. However they may be adapted to suit local conditions or for other reasons.

To start a KFC Mini-Cricket match, two captains toss a bat and one side bats while the other fields.

The aim of the batter is to score as many runs as possible without being dismissed. The bowler's aim is to try and dismiss the batter: the fielders must stop or catch the ball and try to run out the batter. The game is aimed at introducing cricket in a fun way to youngsters and brings children from all walks of life together.

There should be eight (8) players per team.

There should be at least one (1) umpire per game – two (2) if possible.

The pitch should be any reasonably level surface, measuring a minimum of 12 metres and a maximum of 16 metres, measured from the stumps at each end, coaches should use their own discretion.

The base of the wickets is regarded as part of the wickets. The field can be any size and the match can be played anywhere.

While fielding, a team should have three (3) fielders on the off-side, three (3) on the leg-side, a bowler and a wicket keeper. The wicket keeper should be positioned behind the striker's stumps.

All members of the team must have a turn at the wicket-keeping and should be given the opportunity to field in a variety of positions during the course of the match.

At the end of each over, members of the team should rotate one position clockwise.

Every member of the bowling side shall bowl one over. No bowlers shall be permitted to bowl more than one (1) over in a match.

Irrespective of how many times he/she is out, each batter will face six (6) balls in match. The individual scores for each ball faced should be recorded on the scoresheet.

The first two (2) batters will open the innings and when one of them has faced six (6) balls during the course of play, he/she will be replaced by the next batter, and so on. If necessary, the last batter will face the last few ball in succession until he/she has completed his/her allocated six (6) balls. At the completion of the innings the total number of runs is divided by the total number of dismissals/wickets. The resulting average is the team score. The team with the higher average wins.

Whenever a batter is out he/she goes to the non-striker's end and his/her partner faces the next ball, except in the case of a run out at the non-striker's end, or on the last ball of the over.

No boundaries are marked out and the batter can only run a maximum of 6 runs off a scoring stroke or byes.

Fielders and bowlers appeal to the umpires for dismissal of the batter by calling 'Howzat". A wide is when the ball is bowled out of reach of the batter. Wides should be signalled and recorded as an extra. Any bowler experiencing difficulty in this regard should be assisted/allowed to bowl underarm and permitted to bowl two (2) additional balls per over.

Batters may be dismissed five (5) ways: Bowled (if the ball delivered by the bowler hits the wickets direct or via the batter's bat or body); Caught (if a member of the fielding side catches the ball hit by the batter before it touches the ground); Hit wicket ( if the batter hits or bumps into the wicket while attempting to strike the ball); Runout (if any member of the fielding side throws the ball against either set of stumps while the batter is out of his/her ground – umpires should use their discretion in case of run outs); or Stumped (when a batter is out of his/her crease).

No batters should be given out LBW (Leg before wicket).

A runout will be recorded against the striker.

Runout will be recorded as wicket/dismissal.

NOTE: It is recommended that certain basic elements of cricket be coached before, during or after every game, such as:

Who makes a good coach?
Before discussing the part a coach plays in the promotion of cricket and cricketing skills, it is perhaps pertinent to consider who would be a good coach. When looking at the wide variety of experience and background among the men and women who do so much to help young players with their game, one is led to believe that there is no hard and fast rule.

All shapes and sizes, good players and very ordinary players, twenty-year-olds and seventy-year-olds can coach cricket.

Two qualities, however, are inevitably found in good coaches. They have a profound caring for the game of cricket and an unquenchable enthusiasm to communicate that feeling to others.

If that is a positive point, a negative observation is that good players do not necessarily make good coaches. It is true to say that two individuals with equal aptitude for coaching, the person with the playing record is likely to find the job easier. On the other hand, the better players very often find it difficult to analyze their skills and instruct others how to acquire them. Very often it is the average player who works at his/her game that finds it easier to help others. If it is perfectly natural to stroke a half volley just outside off-stump through the covers for four, no deep thinking is required. If, however, one has to play the shot safely and effectively, then he/she will no doubt absorb a greater understanding of the mechanics. Until the basics have been grasped, there is little chance that any individual will be able to help others to learn the game.

The main function of the KFC Mini-Cricket coach is to see that the fun and entertainment aspects are maintained at all times.

Minimise talk, maximize action.

Minimise criticism, maximize praise and encouragement.

Always keep discipline, organization, safety, and correct handeling of equipment in mind at all different KFC Mini-Cricket sessions.

Do not over coach – teach one aspect at a time.

Encourage parent involvement.

Be enthusiastic so as to encourage youngsters to follow.

Be on the lookout for talented youngsters.

Give kids wings to fly and roots to grow.

Running between wickets

Running Between Wickets
Slide the bat across the line when completing or turning for a run.

Non striker must back-up as the bowler releases the ball.

Be ready to run for every hit.

Call 'Yes', 'No' or 'Wait'.

Non-striker must back-up.

Slide the bat behind the batting line when turning for an extra run.

Always look at the ball before calling for an extra run.

If there are no marked creases, then the wickets must be crossed to score a run.

The non-striker must call for all runs where the ball is played behind of the striker's wicket.

Scoring

In KFC Mini-Cricket scoring can be carried out by one or both umpires, a teacher or a parent.

Scoring instructions:

The name of the opposing team and the date of the match and age group should be filled in the space provided.

The names of the batting side should be filled in the eight spaces provided in the order in which they will go in to bat.

The names of the eight bowlers should be filled in the spaces provided under the heading 'Bowler' in the order in which they will bowl.

Each ball bowled is recorded twice: once on the same line as the facing batter's name and once on the appropriate square after the bowler's name. If no run is scored a dot is recorded: if runs are scored the number is entered: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 as the case may be – once again on the same line as the batter and bowler concerned. A running total is maintained by crossing off squares on the right of the score sheet for every run scored.

If a batter is bowled, caught, hit wicket or stumped, a W is entered next to the batter and bowler as in the case of runs scored. In the case of a runout, W is entered. Should runs have been scored off the ball and one of the batters is run out attempting another run, W and the number of runs completed before the dismissal should be scored thus W2 i.e. the batter had run two runs and one was run out while attempting a third.

When the batsman has completed his batting period the total number of runs scored by him/ her should be added and entered in the 'runs' column and the number of times he/she was dismissed should be entered in the adjacent wickets column.

When the batting side has received its total number of overs, the runs scored by all eight batters and the total number of extras should be added to give a gross team score, which should be recorded in the 'total runs' block. The number of dismissals suffered by each batter are added and recorded in the 'total wickets' column.

To ascertain the innings scores the total number of runs is divided by the total number of wickets lost and obtained entered in the 'score square'. If there were no dismissals the total is divided by one and an extra dismissal is added to the total dismissals of their opponents.

Umpiring

The simplicity of the rules makes it possible and desirable for children to take up the duties of umpiring.

The main duties of an umpire in KFC Mini-Cricket are to count six deliveries in each over and to make decisions on dismissals when batter and bowler hit the wicket, catches, runouts or stumping.

Apart from these duties the umpire should ensure that the batter changes ends when a dismissal takes place (except on the last ball of the over and run outs at the non-strikers end).

Ideally there should be two (2) umpires at each game, but it is possible to run a game with only one umpire.

The umpire who stands directly behind the stumps at the end where the bowling is taking place, is responsible for counting the balls (six) in each over, deciding whether batters are out bowled, hit wicket, caught or run out at the bowler's end and ensuring the batter changes ends after a dismissal.

The other umpire stands at square leg i.e. about 20 meters from the batter taking strike, at an angle of 90 to the pitch.

The umpire decides on run out or stumping at his/her end.

After each innings the umpires change roles, with the one at the bowler's end moving to square leg and the other umpire moving in to stand at the bowler's end.

When the batter is dismissed the umpire signals 'out' by raising his/her arm above head height with the index finger extended. He/she must ensure that the scorers acknowledge this signal.

Wicket-keeping and Dismissals

Wicket-Keeping and Dismissals
Know the positions and the ways of being dismissed in KFC Mini-Cricket.

Wicket-Keeping "A" - Standing Up
This position is taken to slow bowlers. Keep the head still, be balanced and watch the ball.

Wicket-Keeping "B" - Standing Back
This position is taken to medium/fast bowlers. Keep the head still, be balanced and watch the ball. Stay down as long as possible. There are five ways of being dismissed in KFC Mini-Cricket. Remember an appeal of "Howzat" shall cover all ways of being out.

Bowled
The striker is out "bowled" if his/her wicket is broken by a bowler's delivery, even if the ball first touched his/her bat or any part of his/her body.

Caught
The striker shall be out if the ball touches his/his bat and is subsequently caught by any fielder, including the wicket-keeper, before it touches the ground.

Run out
If any member of a fielding side throws the ball against either set of stumps while the batter is out of his/her grounds.

Hit wicket
The striker shall be out if his/her wicket is broken with any part of his/her body or equipment whilst attempting a stroke.

Stumped
A striker is out "stumped" if in receiving a ball delivered by the bowler, he/she is out of his/her ground and the wicket is put down by the wicket-keeper.

About KFC Mini-Cricket

What is KFC Mini-Cricket?
KFC Mini–Cricket allows children between the ages of 6 to 12, an equal opportunity to get outside and get active. KFC Mini–Cricket is getting kids active around South Africa with over 110 000 children playing in the programme while learning the disciplines of cricket.

Children not only have fun practicing their batting and bowling skills but also develop self–confidence and get the physical exercise they need, all while having fun with their new–found friends on the pitch.

KFC Mini–Cricket is fun, it’s friendly and there’s always room for more in the team, so get into the action, get into KFC Mini–Cricket.

History
KFC Mini–Cricket began in 1983 in South Africa to give boys and girls their first taste of cricket, igniting a passion for one of South Africa’s most loved games. KFC Mini–Cricket consists of 8 players per team who rotate between battling, bowling and fielding.

How to get involved
Would you like your school to get involved in KFC Mini-Cricket?